"THE MEETING HAD DRAWN NATIONAL ATTENTION BECAUSE THE EXPERT FOUND THAT THE ARSON INVESTIGATION THAT HELPED LEAD TO THE 2004 EXECUTION OF CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM FOR THE MURDER OF HIS CHILDREN WAS BADLY FLAWED. IT WAS ESPECIALLY CONTROVERSIAL BECAUSE PERRY HAD REJECTED A REQUEST TO DELAY WILLINGHAM'S EXECUTION BASED ON SIMILAR EXPERT ANALYSIS.
BRADLEY UNILATERALLY WROTE THE AGENDA FOR FRIDAY'S MEETING TO FOCUS ON NEW POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, OMITTING THE WILLINGHAM REPORT."
COLUMNIST RICK CASEY: HOUSTON CHRONICLE;
(Wikipedia says the Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA. As of March 2008, it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States.)
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BACKGROUND: (Wikipedia); Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire. The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question. In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire. Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire. After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting through the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses found him suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire. Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent. After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committing crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage. When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby." However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this. He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire. Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire." Two days before the Forensic Science Commission was to question Beyler in a public forum, the governor replaced its chairman and two other members whose terms were up. That forced the commission to delay the hearing so new members could read up on the case, and no new date has been set. Perry has since replaced a third member of the commission.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Some of the best coverage of the beleaguered Texas Forensic Science Commission has come from Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle. A rift between Commission head John Bradley and several scientists on the Commission was the subject of Casey's January 31, 2010 column which appeared under the heading "Commentary: The revolt of the scientists."
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"HARLINGEN — Friday started badly for John Bradley, the Williamson County district attorney selected last fall by Gov. Rick Perry to ride herd over the troublesome scientists on the Texas Forensic Science Commission," the column begins.
"His first official act of the morning was to violate the state's open meetings law," it continues.
"Then his day got worse.
This was the first meeting of the commission under Bradley, who was appointed last September. His first official act was to cancel a meeting three days later at which the commission was scheduled to receive a report from a nationally renowned arson expert hired by the commission in its first high-profile case.
The meeting had drawn national attention because the expert found that the arson investigation that helped lead to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the murder of his children was badly flawed. It was especially controversial because Perry had rejected a request to delay Willingham's execution based on similar expert analysis.
Bradley unilaterally wrote the agenda for Friday's meeting to focus on new policies and procedures, omitting the Willingham report. He also unilaterally chose Harlingen (which is as close to Mexico City as to Fort Worth, where three of the nine uncompensated and busy commission members live), making wrong my snide prediction that he would hold the meeting in Presidio to discourage reporters.
The session took place in a modest meeting room at a Marriott Courtyard Hotel. A few area reporters were seated around the walls, as well as a handful of protesters carrying signs. A camera crew from the national Innocence Project streamed the meeting live on the group's Web site.
But Bradley evicted an Austin-based documentary crew before the meeting started. One of its members called the attorney general's office in Austin, which sent a message to Barbara Dean, the assistant district attorney who has attended all of the commission's meetings, providing legal guidance since its inception.
Film crew admitted
An hour and a half into the meeting, Dean, seated behind Bradley, tapped him on the shoulder and quietly spoke into his ear. He announced a 10-minute break, and when the meeting resumed the film crew was in the room.
When I asked Bradley about the matter, he curtly told me to talk to the film crew. I said I had and he replied with annoyance: “Then you know.”
His defensiveness was understandable. Enforcement of the Open Meetings Act is the responsibility of local district attorneys such as himself.
The commission then spent four hours, working through lunch, going over a lengthy set of policies and procedures Bradley had dropped on them only the day before.
Commissioners had been stung by Bradley's public statements suggesting that they had been operating inappropriately without written procedures, when they felt they had conducted every meeting and investigation carefully and under the able counsel of Dean.
Bradley had made the statements while ordering the rest of the commissioners not to talk to the media.
Power for the powerful
The law establishing the commission gave the chairman no special powers, but Bradley's proposals made up for it.
He gave himself the power to name members and chairmen of three standing committees, including one that would screen all complaints submitted to the commission.
He would also name members and chairmen of panels assigned to each case accepted for investigation.
But led by Dr. Sarah Kerrigan, the Scotland Yard-trained head of the forensic science program at Sam Houston State University, and Dr. Garry Adams, veterinary pathologist at Texas A&M, the seven scientists politely but firmly rebelled. The chairman could propose the committees and panels, but the full commission would approve them.
In Wednesday's column I'll explain how the scientists beat back an attempt by a visibly frustrated Bradley to turn the science commission into a legalistic briar patch.
And they won a commitment from Bradley that the Willingham matter would be on the agenda for the next meeting in April — in Fort Worth.
And they won a commitment from Bradley that the Willingham matter would be on the agenda for the next meeting in April — in Fort Worth."
The column can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/6844768.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
